Source: Analekta
Composers:
Divers / Misc., | de Lucia, Paco | Barrios-Mangoré, Augustin | de Falla, Manuel | Haden, Charlie | Al Di Meola, Paco de Lucia,
Performers:
Montréal Guitare Trio,
Since their beginnings, the three multi-instrumentalists of MG3, Sébastien Dufour, Glenn Lévesque, and Marc Morin, have constantly pushed the creative envelope, exploring world music and blending styles. But for their seventh recording, the trio decided to return to the frenetic Spanish music of their early days.
“It reminds me of my days at Université de Montréal – 80 or 90% of the music we played was Spanish”, notes Glenn. “It’s like reviving a great friendship”. For Marc, “it’s both something new, since we’ve never approached an album this way”. The three friends have not abandoned their creativity. Indeed, they have relied on it to take these traditional works to a new place. “We wanted to return to the roots of flamenco, typical Spanish dances like the farruca and bulería, to get to the essence of what the composers were expressing and to create versions that highlight the energy and passion of flamenco,” explains Sébastien.
Manuel De Falla, a towering musical figure of 20th-century Spain, strove to elevate Roma music to high art, an intention that manifests itself in Siete canciones populares españolas, in which he depicts the cultures of different regions of Spain. Many of his works for the stage are also imbued with a traditional spirit, including his opera La vida breve and the ballets El amor brujoand El sombrero de tres picos. The rich and intoxicating acoustic sonority produced by MG3 will transport listeners to the stages where this fiery music was first performed long ago, and also to the Montevideo Cathedral in Uruguay, which was Agustín Barrios Mangoré’s source of inspiration for La Catedral. Decades after De Falla’s passing, his influence could still be heard in the music of the great flamenco master Paco De Lucía, including on his album Interpreta a Manuel de Falla.
De Lucía was a pioneer of flamenco guitar as a solo instrument and of “new flamenco”, a medium that blended flamenco with other styles such as rock, pop and jazz.
As Sébastien mentions, the legendary recording Friday Night in San Francisco, released in 1981 by the trio of De Lucía, John McLaughlin, and Al Di Meola, had a huge influence on them. Also inspired by jazz greats Pat Metheny and Charlie Haden, MG3 took great satisfaction in interpreting Our Spanish Love Song, released on the 1997 CD Beyond The Missouri Sky. With this recording, the MG3 trio give us all the history with supreme skill and a flair that is entirely their own – flamenco at its vibrant, colourful, and emotional best!
mg3.ca
© Sonia Lussier
Translation: Peter Christensen